Drawing roll cleaning machine



Sept. 18, 1945.

DRAWING ROLL CLEANING MACHINE Filed Feb. 20,

1943 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Sept. 18, 1945. H. e. STElNMETZ IDRAWING ROLL CLEANING MACHINE Filed Feb.- 20, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTQR ATTORNEY p 3, 1945. H. G. STEINMETZ 2,385,039

DRAWING ROLL CLEANING MACHINE Filed Feb. 20, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTO R N EY chine drawing rolls as they are fed thereto,

Patented Sept. 18, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE naawmu aou. cncamomcnma v Harry G. Steinmetz, Port Chester N. Y., asslgnor to E. Y. Hadley, New York, N. Y. i i

Application February 20, 1943, Serial No. 476,612

10 Claims. (01. 15-21) This invention relates'to a" machine for cleanin; rollers, and more particularly to such 'a machine for cleaning drawing rolls of spinning ma-' chines.

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 440,035, filed April 22, 1942.

Drawing rolls usually consist of a pair of spaced apart rollers mounted fast upon a spindle, the

' cellulosic material, such as parchment paper, may

be applied. In use, lint and other dirt accumudegrees of depth, hardness, compactness and matted condition, which occurs repeatedly before the rollers need to be re'- covered. Such accumulationsof dirt; etcl; interfere withthe proper operation of the spinning machine sothat the rolls must be removedand cleaned periodically. This cleaning operation is difllcult and has heretofore been done by hand, which consumes considerable time, is costly, and frequently results ininiury- It is one object ofthis invention to provide -a machinefor automatically cleaning spinning maand automatically discharge the cleaned rolls.

Itis another-object of "this invention to provides machine of the above indicated character which is readily adaptable at the factory or by the customer or user for cleaning the different sizilals of drawing rolls normally encountered-in a mi Further objects of this inventionare to provide a machine of the above indicated character in which'the drawing rolls are cleaned' indi'vidualiy; in which the cleaning brush is operated at a much greater peripheral speedthan the drawing roll during the cleaning operatio'ni-and to rotate the drawing rolls frictionally during the cleaning operation.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a machine of the above indicated character in which the mounting for the cleaning brush I is flexible so as to accommodate the-brush to the varying cleaning conditions, and toprotect the 7 brush and mechanism from dama e due to a continuously the operationthereof.

It is an even further object of this invention 'to provide a machine which is rugged and simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and foolproof in operation. Other and further obiects of this invention will 'be understood from this specification taken in conjrlilnction with' the accompanying drawings, in whic Fig. 1.and Fig. 2 are respectively side views of opposite sides of a cleaning machine constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view'ofthe machine of Figs. .1 and 2, parts being shown in section and some parts being omitted for the sake of clarity of illates around the spindles of the rolls in various "i5 lustration, the view being taken on the lines 3-4 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a central vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail of the carrier for the drawing rolls. showing one of the drawing rolls in cleaning'position and in cross section.

Fig. 6 is a detail view, partly in section, show- .ing a modified construction of cleaning brush mounted in its supporting. frame.

Referring first to Fig. 5, a drawing roll. such as is'cleaned in the machine 'of this application is shown at as comprising a pair of spaced p -rt rollers l2 secured, to a spindle I I. As seen, the ends of this spindle project beyond the rollers. Each roller been felt covering ll over which is a covering li of parchment paper or the like.

Referring now to the other figures of the drawings, the cleaning machine comprises a'frame 1i having a transverse partition ll which divides the same into upper and lower compartments. The lower compartment contains the motor l8, and a speed reducing mechanism It, connected thereto bymeans of a belt 2|. The speed reducer lsconnected by means of a chain and sprocket'drive. 22 to a pair of bevel gears 23 (Fig. 3)' on the shaft of thelouter one of which is mounted a sprocket 24 which, through chain It drives sprocket 28 that is fast upon transverse shaft 21 that is rotatably mounted in the frame in the upper compartment. 0n the opposite end of the shaft 21 from the sprocket It is mounted the disc 28 and crank 29 of 0. Geneva movement. The slotted star disc 3| of this Geneva movement is carried by ashaft 12, which is alscadournaled in the frame of the machine in the upper compartment, the Geneva movement functioning in the usual manner to produce a step by step movement of the shaft 32.

Mounted on the shaft 82 in the upper compartment are a pair of spaced apart carrier discs 33 which are adjustable along the shaft 32 to accommodate different widths of the drawing rolls, and are secured in their adjusted positions by any suitable means as, for example, by set screws. The inner faces of the discs 33 are provided with slots or sockets 34 projecting inwardly from the edges of the discs and spaced equally therearound, the slots in the respective discs being aligned lat- .erallv. In the present embodiment four such slots are used.

Extending forwardly from the vicinity of the discs 33 is an inclined feeder trackway 33 consisting of a pair of angle iron sections 33, having upturned portions which are on opposite sides of the center line of the trackway and serve to guide the drawing rolls II by engagement slow the inner surfaces of the rollers ii. The angle iron sections 33 are supported adjacent their outer ends upon a transverse rod 31, to which they are adiustably secured by thumb screws 33, the rod being supported by a pair of brackets 33 that are mounted upon the frame of the machine. Near their inner ends the trackway sections are sup ported upon another transverse rod ll, to which they are also adjustably secured by thumb screws 32, Rod 4| is supported at each side of the frame by a slotted bracket 43 which is adjustable vertically, being held in adjusted position by a bolt, as shown in Fig. 4. In this manner, the trackway sections can be adiusted laterally and alsovertically to accommodate the various widths and diameters of drawing rolls to bring the lowermost roll on the trackw'ay into proper position so that the protruding ends of the spindle thereof will roll directly into one ofthe pair of slots 33 in the carrier discs 33 as the same are presented to this leading position.

The second following step of the Geneva movement will bring the drawing roll II to the cleaning position, shown in Fig. 4. In this position the perimeters of the rollers I! are respectively engaged by one of a pair of endless belts 43 that are mounted upon upper and lower pulleys 43 and 41, respectively. The upper pulleys 33 .are adjustably secured upona shaft 33 that is driven by a sprocket and chain drive 33 (Fig.3) from movement. are laterally adjustable upon their shaft 3| the adjustments of the belt pulleys being to properly position the same for wider or narrower drawing rolls, as the case may be.

It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the belts extend across the position of the drawing roll it in the cleaning position so that as the roll approaches that position it engages and deflects the belt strands to establish suillcient frictional contact between belts and drawing roll to rotate the latter by the travel of the belts, this being permitted by reason of the free mounting of the spindle of the drawing roll in the slots or sockets 34 of the carrier discs 33.v

Mounted to'the rear of the belt 33 is a swinging frame as that is pivoted at its lower end upon the pivot rod 33. Intermediate the top and bottom thereof, the frame has a hub 31 in which is mounted the transverse shaft 33. A rotary brush 53, preferably having wire teeth on the perimeter thereof, is detachably mounted upon the shaft" by means of a setscrew, orsimilar fastening means. The frame ll of the machine is covered on each side by means of plates 3|, each of which is provided with a slot 32 through which the shaft 33 proiecta- The shaft 33 and -from the cleaning position and a new drawing roll the continuously rotating shaft 21 of the Geneva The driven lower pulleys 31 also slots 32 act to guide the frame in its forward and backward movements, as will be explained.

The shaft 53 is continuously driven by the motor I3 through the belt 33 and pulley 34 which is mounted on the shaft 33. The brush and frame move forwardly so that the wire bristles of the brush contact the spindle i3 between the rollers It, as shown in Fig. 5, whenever a drawing roll H is in the cleaning position and the frame and b h move backwardly as the drawing roll is ved from the cleaning position and while a new roll is brought into the cleaning position.

This moving is done by means of a resilient connection, about to be described, which also allows for the separation of the parts should any unusual situation arise that might result in damage to the brush or to the other mechanisms. A pair of levers 33 are pivotally mounted upon the shaft 33 of the upper belt pulley 33. At its lower end each lever carries an idler 33 that engages beneath each of the belts 33. At the upper ends the levers 33v each carry a hook 31 to which is fastened a coiled spring 33. At the other ends the coiled springs 33 fasten to a bar 33 that is carried in the eyes 13 on the top of the swinging brush frame 33. Thus, as the drawing roll I l is brought to the cleaning position (Fig. 4) additional tension is placed upon the belt 33, which is transmitted through the idlers 33 and levers 33 to the coiled springs" that in turn pull the swinging frame 35 forwardly to bring the wire brush into position to thoroughly sweep the spindle [3. At times the accumulated matter on the spindle 13 has built up to a considerable extent but this spring tension insures that the wire teeth of the brush will move forwardly without damage as fast as the accumulated matter is removed and until the spindle is completely cleaned. An adjustable stop II is mounted on the side of the machine in' position to be engaged by the frame 33, which stop prevents the brush from being moved so far forwardly as to damage the same on the spindle of the drawing roll being cleaned. As the Geneva movement makes the next-step, the cleaned drawing roll is moved and adjustable so as to raise or lower the inner 'end of'the discharge trackway 12 to accommodate The outer drawing rolls-of different diameters. ends of the angle ironsections 13 are adiustably supported upon a. transverse rod I3 and pivot."

' thereupon in accordance with the adjustment of the brackets 13. The rod I3 is supported on the frame N by means of brackets I1. The angle iron sections 13 of the discharge trackway will be spaced laterally similarly to the feed trackway; so

.that the upturned portions thereof will act as guides on the inner surfaces of the rollers I! fo the different widths of drawing rolls. Y

The upper compartment is closed at its rear by a tapering section 3| which terminates in a throat 32 that connects with the eye of a blower type suction fan 33' that. serves to withdraw all of the lint and dust from the compartment and mechanism as it is removed from the drawing rolls, the blower communicating with any suitable place of waste disposal. The entire closing of the upper compartment, except for the openings for the two trackways, is completed by means of a hinged cover 84 that has a portion that extends down over the front of the machine between the side frames. This arrangement insures the removal of all the dirt, and yet the cover may be tilted back for the purpose of repair, replacement or adjustments, as needed.

Reference has been made in several places to the fact that drawing rolls of diiferent widths and different diameters are used in spinning machines, and it is necessary that the apparatus be readily adaptable to these varying conditions. Furthermore, some of the spindles it have a step or shoulder between the rollers. It has been explained how the carrier discs 33, the trackways and the belts 45 are laterally adjustable to accommodate the different sizes of drawing rolls. However, with more widely spaced rollers, a single brush such as illustrated at 59 will not be sufficient to clean the wider spindle space or an irregularly shaped spindle. For these purposes an arrangement such as shown in Fig. 6may be provided. A hub 9| is secured upon the brush shaft 58, the hub having a flange 92 near one end. A ring shaped plate 93 fits upon the hub and bears against the flange. The brush in this case is made up of multiple sections 94 and 95 of varying diameters as the case may be. On the opposite side of the brush sections a clamping plate 98 is placed upon the hub 9|, and the brush sections are clamped together by the nut 91 that engages the threaded outer end of the hub 9|.

All these various arrangements enable the user to quickly adapt the entire mechanism to use with the difierent sizes of drawing rolls that may be used in a mill; and similarly the manufacturer of the cleaning machine may quickly assemble'a cleaning machine from a plurality of standard parts so as to meet the requirements of any particular mill.

The operation of the cleaning briefly described as follows:

Drawing rolls are placed upon the feeder trackmachine may be to the feed position at the end of the feed tracinway 35. The flexible connection for moving the brush, or brushes, back and forth and tensioning the belt has been described, as have the several drives and the arrangement for continuously removing the lint, etc., from the cleaning mechanism.

Modifications may be made in the arrangement and location of parts within the spirit and scope of'my invention, and such modifications are fun tended to be covered by the appended claims,

I claim:

1. In a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, a frame, a pair of rotary carrier discs having means for receiving a drawing roll. and supporting the same during cleaning thereof, belt means for rotating the roll while being cleaned, rotary brush means engaging portions of the drawing roll to clean the same, means for tensioning the belt during the cleaning operation, such means being connected to the brush means so as to alsomove the same forwardly for the cleaning operation, and motor means hav ing connections whereby the brush means is rotated and the belt means is moved.

2. In a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, a main frame, a pair of rotary carrier discs having means,for receiving a draw ing roll and supporting the same during cleaning thereof, a pair of moving belts engaging the drawing roll to rotate the same while being cleaned, a pivoted frame, rotary brush means carried thereby and arranged to engage portions of ,the drawing roll to be cleaned, a belt tensioni ing means comprising a lever, a spring connecway 35, which is kept filled, and these rolls descend by gravity to the lower end of the trackway. Here the rolls are picked up one by one by the engagement of the ends of the spindles in the slots 34 of the carrier discs 33 as they rotate in r a counterclockwise direction, the rotation being step by step under the action of the Geneva movement.

The rolls are carried to the cleaning position shown in Fig. 4 where the revolving brush 59, or the brushes 94 and 95 of Fig. 6, clean the accumulations from the spindle in the space between the rollers. In this connection, it will be noted from the several drives that the peripheral speed of the brush, or brushes, is much greater than the peripheral speed of the rolls as they are rotated by the belts 45, the ratio being of the order of ten to one, although other ratios may be used of this order and higher so as to produce the desired tearing action. The cleaning operation is completed'by the time the Geneva movement turns the carrier discs another step, and as this further step is made, the cleaned roll drops onto the discharge trackway 12 along which it descends by gravity, falling into any suitable receptacle at the end of this trackway. Simultaneously as the cleaned drawing roll is carried away from the tion from the lever to the brush frame, the belt being rurthertensioned as the drawing roll is brought to cleaning position, the arrangement being such that, the brush is brought into contact with the parts of the roll to be cleaned, and motor means having connections whereby the brush means is rotated and the belts are moved.

3. In a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, a frame, a pair of carrier discs having slots within for receiving drawing rolls and supporting the same during cleaning thereof, means for rotating the carrier discs step by step, a feeder trackway along which the drawing rolls move by gravity into position to be piclred up by the carrier discs to be carried to a cleaning position, means for rotating the roll while in the cleaning position, rotary brush means engaging portions of the drawing roll to be cleaned,

.motor means having connections whereby the trackway onto which the cleaned drawing rolls fallby gravity and along which they move by gravity to be discharged from the machine.

4. A cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, each drawing roll having a spin dle, said machine comprising a frame, a shaft, means for rotating the same step by step, a pair of carrier discs mounted on the shaft having slots therein for receiving the spindle of a draw ing roll and freely supporting the same during cleaning thereof, a feeder trackway presenting the drawing rolls in position to be picked up by the carrier discs and carried to a cleaning position, means for rotating the roll while being cleaned, rotary brush means engaging portions of the drawing roll to be cleaned, and a discharge for the cleaned rolls from said carrier.

5. A cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, each drawing roll having a spindle, comprising in combination, a frame, a shaft, means for rotating the same step by step, a pair of carrier discs mounted on the shaft having slots therein for receiving the spindle of a drawing roll and freely supporting the same during cleaning thereof, a feeder trackway presenting the drawing rolls in position to be picked up by the carrier discs and carried to a leaning position, a moving belt mounted so as to be engaged by the drawing roll to rotate the roll as it is brought into cleaning position, rotary brush means engaging portions of the drawing roll while it is in the cleaning position, and a discharge for the cleaned rolls.

6. In a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, each drawing roll having a spindle, a frame, a shaft, means for rotating the shaft step by step, a pair of carrier discs mounted on the shaft having slots therein for receiving the spindle of a drawing roll and freely supporting the same during cleaning thereof, a feeder trackway presenting the drawing rolls in position to be picked up by the carrier discs and carried to a cleaning position, a moving belt mounted so as to be engaged by the drawing roll to rotate the roll as it is brought into and while in cleaning position, rotary brush means engaging portions of the drawing roll to be cleaned, a connection whereby as the roll is brought to cleaning position the brush means is moved forwardly to clean the roll, and a discharge for the cleaned rolls.

7. m a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, each drawing roll having a spindle, a frame, a shaft, means for rotating the same step by step, a pair of carrier discs mounted on the shaft having slots therein for receiving the spindle of a drawing roll and freely supporting the same during cleaning thereof, a feeder trackway presenting the drawing rolls in position to be picked up by the carrier discs and carried to a, cleaning position, a moving belt mounted so as to be engaged by the drawing roll to rotate. the roll as it is brought into cleaning position, rotary brush means engaging portions of the drawing roll to be cleaned, a discharge for the cleaned rolls, an enclosure for the cleaning mechanism-and blower means connected to the enclosure for removing from the machine the material cleaned from the drawing rolls.

8. In a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, each drawing roll having a spindie, a frame, a shaft, means for rotating the same step by step, a pair of carrier discs mounted on i the shaft having slots therein for receiving the spindle of a drawing roll and freely supporting the same during cleaning thereof, a feeder trackway presenting the drawing rolls in position to be picked up by the carrier discs and carried to a cleaning position, a pair of pulleys one of which is mounted on a continuously rotating shaft, an endless belt operated by said pulleys and extending into position to be engaged by the drawing roll to rotate the same as it is brought into cleaning position by the carrier discs, rotary' brush means also mounted on a continuously rotating shaft, means for bringing the brush means into engagement with the drawing roll while in the cleaning position, the brush having a higher peripheral speed than the drawing roll while in the cleaning position, a motor having connections for rotating the several shafts, and a discharge for the cleaned rolls.

9. A machine for cleaning spinning machine drawing rolls, each roll comprising a spindle on which is mounted a pair of spaced apart rollers, said machine comprising a frame, a shaft, means for moving the shaft step by step, a pair of carrier discs having slots spaced around the periphery thereof, a trackway for feeding uncleaned drawing rolls to the slots in said discs, the discs carrying the drawing rolls to and supporting the same in a cleaning position, a moving belt mounted in said frame so as to move past the cleaning position and engaging the drawing roll in that position so as to rotate the same during the cleaning thereof, brush means mounted in said frame for reciprocating movement toward and from the roll that is in cleaning position, the brush means cleaning the area between the rollers of said drawing roll as it is moved forward and retreating as the cleaned roll is carried away from the cleaning position, a discharge means receiving the cleaned roll from said carrier discs, and a motor for operating the carrier disc shaft, the belt and the brush means, the brush having a greater peripheral speed than the roller in the cleaning position. a

10. In a cleaning machine for spinning machine drawing rolls, a main frame, a. pair of rotary carrier discs having means for receiving a drawing roll and supporting the same in a cleaning position, a moving belt engaging the drawing roll to rotate the same while being cleaned, the belt being tensioned by the roll in the cleaning position, brush means mounted in said frame for reciprocating movement toward and from the roll in the cleaning position, means actuated by the tensioned belt for moving the brush means toward the roll in the cleaning position, and motor means having connections for operating the carrier discs, the belt and the brush means.

HARRY G. S'I'EINlVlE'IZ.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,585,059. September 16, 19b

HARRY G. STEINMEIZ.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, line 75, claim L for the words "for the" read --trackway receiving the-; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of' December, A. D. 1914.5.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) First Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

